Photinus of Sirmium
Photinus of Sirmium (Greek Photeinos , Germanized Photin ; * in Ancyra ; † 376 ) was Bishop of Sirmium and represented a doctrine condemned as heresy , according to which Jesus was a person raised by God to be his Son ( Adoptianism ).
Life and teaching
Photinus grew up in the Galatian Ancyra, today's Ankara (Turkey). There he was a student and, for a short time, a deacon of Bishop Marcellus . Around 343 Photinus became Bishop of Sirmium . Based on Marcellus and Paulus of Samosata , he developed a doctrine according to which Jesus Christ was not a divine being, but a man who was raised by God to be his Son ( adoptianism ). His teachings were condemned as heretical at synods in Antioch (344), Milan (345 and 347) and Sirmium (348), and in 351/352 he was finally banned for good at another synod of Sirmium after a dispute with the influential Bishop Basil of Ancyra . In 355 the judgment was confirmed again at the Council of Milan . In 361 the new emperor Julian had him pardoned so that he could return to his bishopric in Sirmium. The amnesty is one of a series of pardons with which Julian, who favored paganism, wanted to promote the division of Christianity. In this context, the emperor also wrote a letter to Photinos, some of which has been preserved. After Julian's death in 363, however, Photinus was finally banished under Valentinian I in 364. He died in Galatia in 376 .
Afterlife
His doctrine was still represented by various groups until the 5th century, who referred to themselves as "Photinians" based on Photinos. Among them was his student, Bishop Bonosus von Naissus . When Emperor Gratian issued an edict of tolerance in 378 , he expressly excluded the Photinians, along with the Eunomians and the Manicheans . In 381, Theodosius I again turned against the Photinians in a law. In the west, the Photinians were condemned at two synods in Rome (375 and 382) under Damasus I. In 428 another legal prohibition followed.
literature
- Thomas Böhm: Photin from Sirmium . In: Religion Past and Present (RGG). 4th edition. Volume 6, Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 2003, Sp. 1322.
- Manfred Clauss : Photin. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 554-555.
- Friedrich Loofs : Photin from Sirmium . In: Realencyklopadie for Protestant Theology and Church (RE). 3. Edition. Volume 15, Hinrichs, Leipzig 1904, pp. 372-374.
- Karl-Heinz Uthemann: Photeinos v. Sirmium . In: Lexicon for Theology and Church (LThK). 3. Edition. Volume 8, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1999, column 267.
- DH Williams: Monarchianism and Photinus of Sirmium as the Persistent Heretical Face of the Fourth Century . In: Harvard Theological Review . Volume 99, 2006, pp. 167-206.
Remarks
- ↑ Φωτεινός, phonetic script: Phōteinós
- ↑ Julian, Letter 90. See also Klaus Rosen , Julian. Kaiser, Gott und Christenhasser , Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2006, p. 313f.
- ↑ Socrates Scholasticus 5.2; Sozomenos 7,1,3.
- ↑ Codex Theodosianus 16,5,6.
- ↑ Codex Theodosianus 16,5,65.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Photinus of Sirmium |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Photeinos; Photin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Christian heretic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century or 4th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ancyra |
| DATE OF DEATH | 376 |